Malcolm Wicks (Minister of State (Energy), Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform; Croydon North, Labour)

This clause refers to co-operation and information sharing between the Secretary of State and the interested bodies. When information is relevant to a programme, the clause sets out the framework for the sharing of information that relates to a person—such as a site operator or persons with obligations under a programme, such as trustees, or a body corporate associated with the operator—between the Secretary of State and the interested bodies.

The clause also sets out the framework for those relevant bodies to provide assistance. It will limit the circumstances in which the Secretary of State and the regulatory bodies can share information. It will also apply if the Secretary of State is considering whether to make a modification, deciding whether or not to approve a programme under clause 41 or deciding whether to make a modification under clause 44. It will also apply where a proposal to make a modification to an already approved programme would result in a new obligation being imposed on a body corporate.

Information can only be shared between the Secretary of State and the interested bodies if the Secretary of State thinks that the information is relevant to certain statutory duties of one or more of those bodies. Likewise, the interested bodies can only share information with the Secretary of State if they think that the information is relevant to a function of the Secretary of State under this chapter. The clause will apply regardless of any statutory or other restriction that seeks to prevent a disclosure of information. Any information shared between the Secretary of State and the relevant interested bodies will be subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Hugo Swire (East Devon, Conservative)

I see that the bodies specifically listed are the Health and Safety Executive, the Environment Agency and the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland. Coming back to devolution, what powers, if any, will the clause give to the Secretary of State in relation to installations in Scotland, which would affect us if something were to go wrong? What is  the flow of information and responsibility between the Secretary of State and the devolved Administration in Edinburgh?

Malcolm Wicks (Minister of State (Energy), Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform; Croydon North, Labour)

Obviously, this is about new nuclear. The powers in the Bill will not affect Scotland, largely because the Scottish Executive, who are the planning authority for power stations of this kind, have made it clear that, at present, on planning grounds, they will not allow new nuclear to be built in Scotland. I personally hope that Scotland will one day open the way to what will be an important modern industry in the 21st century, and there may come a time when these issues will need to be revisited. However, none of the key provisions in the Bill applies to Scotland

It is important that bodies corporate associated with the operator are caught within the scope of the clause, because those involved in financing and supporting such an operator are as important to the sustainability and viability of the programme as the operator’s ability to fund it. It is therefore only right that, if one of the interested bodies had information about an associated company that might have an impact on the programme, the regulator could be required to share that information with the Secretary of State. We will work with interested bodies to draw up a memorandum of understanding that will set out how the Secretary of State and individual regulators should work together not only in sharing information, but in ensuring that the process for approving, monitoring and reviewing decommissioning programmes is understood by all those involved. That will also enable operators and persons with obligations under a programme to understand what they can expect from those parties with regulatory responsibilities.